Children produce
large quantities of art when they are young – particularly between the ages of
four and six. (Boone, 2008, p. 30)
I can relate to this from the perspective of both of my children. My daughter was a prolific drawer and producer of art from a young age. My son, however, was completely opposite. He would only draw when absolutely necessary. He did like to construct things, both from Mobilio and in the sand-pit - his artistic endeavours were not on paper.
Theme 6: Children believe artistic ability improves with age.
Young children assert that physical development adds to a person's artistic ability. As children grow, their fine motor ability (i.e., pencil grip) improves, which allows them to have more control and accuracy in drawing and painting. (Boone, 2008. p. 32)
This links in with what I was discussing above. My son has some artistic talent and this has improved with age. He still prefers to make stuff and is an avid origami producer. This shows that his fine motor skills have improved as he has matured to the point that he can make some very intricate things with paper. (See montage of pictures for his artwork.) He may not be the conventional artist who draws, but he is an artist in his own right.
I can relate to this from the perspective of both of my children. My daughter was a prolific drawer and producer of art from a young age. My son, however, was completely opposite. He would only draw when absolutely necessary. He did like to construct things, both from Mobilio and in the sand-pit - his artistic endeavours were not on paper.
Theme 6: Children believe artistic ability improves with age.
Young children assert that physical development adds to a person's artistic ability. As children grow, their fine motor ability (i.e., pencil grip) improves, which allows them to have more control and accuracy in drawing and painting. (Boone, 2008. p. 32)
This links in with what I was discussing above. My son has some artistic talent and this has improved with age. He still prefers to make stuff and is an avid origami producer. This shows that his fine motor skills have improved as he has matured to the point that he can make some very intricate things with paper. (See montage of pictures for his artwork.) He may not be the conventional artist who draws, but he is an artist in his own right.
Early childhood
literature acknowledges art for its contribution to the general development of
children (Tarr, 1989), but does not specifically discuss the pleasure and social
skills children derive from art experiences. Early childhood is exploratory in
nature, so play-based learning is promoted within early childhood settings.
(Boone, 2008, p .36)
This quote resonates with me as I really enjoyed art in my primary
school: making bubble pictures, pasta cards, mirror images with paint, sewing
pictures, etc.. It was only when I
progressed onto high school that I began to feel that art was not my thing. I did not fit into what the teacher
wanted. Art is a subjective subject,
what I like or do not like does not mean that everyone will feel the same. We have to take the creativity from the piece
and appreciate it.
References
Boone, D.J. (2008). Young children’s experience of visual displays of their artwork. Australian Art Education, 31(2), 22-45.
Tarr, P. (1989). Pestalozzian
and Froebelian influences on contemporary elementary school art. Studies in
Art Education, 30(2), 115-121.
Wonderful thoughts Sarah. I really appreciate the personal humanity in this thoughtful response :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic oragami from Jack! :)
ReplyDeleteMy mum got me into oragami, and I used to love making things during my early teens. I'll have to get out the book for my kids, perhaps they may like it better when they are older, but we'll see!
That's an interesting comparison between the 'drawing' and 'making stuff' between your children. I suppose that's why we, as teachers, should give students the opportunity to explore as many different ways of expressing themselves through visual art as posisble. They may not like 'art', but love building things... and not realise that this can be a form of art.
I note Boone says one of the research findings was that "Making art is an enjoyable and important social experience for children." This is really great, but I think this may not always coincide with government policy (or other stakeholder views), and that's probably part of the problem with art being seen as 'frosting'.
'Cross-curricula requirements', indeed!
Yesterday at volunteering, the children were given 'proper' clay and were allowed play clay time. I thought this was fantastic as they were allowed to be social and creative at the same time. Some children just goofed off, but some of the conversations between children about what they were doing and how to improve were incredible. I suppose this was what Boone was talking about when he said that art should be a social event, with some peer learning and collaboration thrown in too.
ReplyDelete